Two UGA professors are among 105 professors named recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on science and engineering professors in the early stages of their research careers.
Established in 1996 by President Bill Clinton, awardees are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education or community outreach. The recipients receive the awards in person each spring at the White House.
The UGA recipients of the awards this year are Danny Krashen, an associate professor in Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ mathematics department, and Joachim Walther, an associate professor in the College of Engineering.
“Dr. Krashen and Dr. Walther combine innovative research with a passion for inspiring and mentoring young people, and they are a testament to the extraordinary quality of STEM education the University of Georgia provides,” said Pamela Whitten, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.
Krashen joined the UGA faculty in 2008 following postdoctoral positions at the University of California, Los Angeles, Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania.
He began studying math more in depth to better understand physics, he said, and was quickly captivated by the beauty of its internal structure and ideas. With an interest in researching the interface of abstract algebra and geometry, his research focuses on the use of shape and geometry to gain insight into problems whose origins lie in algebra and arithmetic.
Walther joined the UGA faculty in 2009. His National Science Foundation CAREER project, which focuses on how to improve the quality of qualitative research in engineering education, has been an instrumental part of his efforts to build an innovative, collaborative and highly interdisciplinary research program.
Walther and close collaborator Nicola Sochacka, a research professional and instructor in the UGA College of Engineering, have traveled across the nation and abroad to facilitate workshops based on their framework for qualitative research quality.